President Donald Trump is set to make a second state visit to the United Kingdom this week, a first for a U.S. president, drawing attention to a long and often fraught history between him and members of the British royal family.
The visit, scheduled for Sept. 17–19 and set to include a meeting at Windsor Castle with King Charles, has revived public scrutiny of episodes stretching back more than four decades — from disputed property rumors and public overtures toward Princess Diana to protocol gaffes during private audiences with Queen Elizabeth II and repeated public barbs at other royals.
Trump's relationship with the monarchy dates to his years as a New York real estate developer. In the early 1980s newspapers reported that then-Prince Charles and Princess Diana were considering an apartment in Trump Tower; Buckingham Palace denied the reports. Biographers and contemporary accounts later said the rumors, which Trump described in his 1987 book The Art of the Deal as publicity that he would not deny, aided attention to the building.
Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, episodes that fed media coverage included Trump's public praise — and overtures — toward Diana after her 1992 separation from Charles, comments he later acknowledged in memoirs, and later controversial remarks about other members of the royal family. In 2012, after intimate photographs of Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, were published by a French magazine, Trump criticized the duchess on social media. Meghan Markle publicly described Trump as "misogynistic" during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign; Trump responded at various times with both praise and criticism of her and Prince Harry, calling Meghan "not a fan" in a 2021 interview and, in early 2024, saying he would not deport Harry from the United States while calling Meghan "terrible," according to published interviews.
The Trump years also included several formal encounters with Queen Elizabeth II. In July 2018, Trump visited Windsor Castle for tea with the queen; video from that meeting showed him briefly walking ahead of her during an inspection of an honor guard, drawing criticism from etiquette observers. A year later, during a full state visit, Trump and the queen attended a Buckingham Palace banquet. British and U.S. accounts of those encounters differed. Trump said afterward that the pair had gotten on "fantastically well"; a 2024 biography by Craig Brown reported that the queen had privately called him "very rude," a claim Trump publicly disputed.
After the queen's death in September 2022, Trump issued a statement praising her "historic and remarkable reign" and extended condolences to the royal family. Buckingham Palace later confirmed that King Charles sent Trump a private message after an assassination attempt on Trump in July 2024, an incident in which Trump was wounded and at least one bystander was killed, according to U.S. authorities. The palace said the message was delivered via the U.K. Embassy in Washington.
The couple's ties with the royal household have included moments of private correspondence. In her 2024 memoir, First Lady Melania Trump wrote that she had exchanged letters with King Charles after 2019 and described a continuing friendly relationship.
Trump's interactions with other royals have been mixed. In December 2024, the president and Prince William met at events in Paris tied to the re-opening of Notre-Dame; Kensington Palace said the two discussed global issues and the U.K.-U.S. relationship, and Trump later praised William's appearance and commended his work. At other times Trump has publicly criticized Harry for stepping back from royal duties and for media engagements in the United States, calling the decision to leave the monarchy "unforgivable" in earlier remarks.
Royal and political observers have noted that second state visits by U.S. presidents are uncommon. Past presidents who served a second term after an earlier state visit have typically been hosted for less formal engagements, such as tea or lunch at Windsor Castle. The decision to extend a full second state visit to Trump and to host him at Windsor has prompted commentary from experts and observers who said they found the move notable given the history of public rows, protocol incidents and personal comments that have marked the relationship.
Buckingham Palace has not publicly detailed the private conversations that may have led to the invitation. The palace and White House have said the visit will underscore the "close and longstanding friendship" between the United Kingdom and the United States. The itinerary is expected to feature formal ceremonial events as well as bilateral meetings focused on shared interests.
The visit will test efforts on both sides to balance ceremonial tradition with a recent history of public criticism and private cordiality. Records of past encounters show a mix of protocol missteps and diplomatic exchanges, private messages and public tributes, underscoring a relationship that has combined personal incident and institutional continuity over four decades.